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And Los Angeles recently celebrated its second-annual Vegan Beer Fest, featuring more than 50
brews, all produced and consumed without any harm to animals - except, perhaps, those of the party
variety.

Don't feel left out, central Ohio. Thanks to Melanie Long, we have our very own vegan hair
salon.

Long's Virtue Salon & Barber Shop opened last year at 3333 N. High St., a Clintonville
storefront formerly occupied by an Indonesian market and a recording studio.

What sets Virtue apart is its product selection: The shop uses only sulfate-free, "botanically
based" shampoos, conditioners, gels and colors - all certified organic and none tested on
animals.

"They're not as easy to find," Long said. "It takes an extra step."

Virtue also goes out of its way to recycle everything that enters the shop, including the
packaging it receives from suppliers, the foil it uses to apply highlights and the hair it sweeps
from the floor. (Clippings go to Matter of Trust, a nonprofit that makes "hair mats" to sop up oil
spills.)

Long's penchant for recycling carries over even to the shop's eclectic decor: All of the
furnishings, including a barber chair owned by Long's great-grandfather, are secondhand - or
"repurposed," as she puts it.

"I have had a few people say, 'Is this a furniture store?'"

Long, a 26-year-old native of Galion, Ohio, said that in starting her own salon, she wanted to
incorporate the many lessons she'd learned - both good and bad - in nearly a decade of work for
other shops.

"As a hairstylist, I began to ponder ideas about how the beauty industry could have a positive
approach to life and the environment," she said. "Many salons have become extremely wasteful and
dangerous for the environment."

Her goal is to be "eco-friendly to the max."

"I thought there were a lot of people in Clintonville who were passionate about that," said
Long, who lives in the neighborhood.

If the statistics are correct, veganism is starting to transcend trendy locales such as
Clintonville.

Nationwide, the market for vegan and vegetarian food grew from $730million in 2000 to more than
$2.8 billion by the end of the decade, according to Mintel, a market-research group.

Globally, an estimated 168 million people refrain from eating or using animal products, reports
Vegan Mainstream, a California-based marketing firm established two years ago to help businesses
such as Long's gain a foothold in the marketplace. The firm's slogan: "Boldly bringing vegan to a
city near you."

Stephanie Redcross, founder and managing director of Vegan Mainstream, said one of the biggest
challenges is overcoming "the stereotype that all vegans are hippie activists."

"While many vegans have an activist component to their lives, I think people don't know that
vegans are in all walks of life," said Redcross, formerly a marketing executive with General
Electric. "There are vegan lawyers, vegan bus drivers, vegan students, vegan doctors, vegan CEOs
and so on.